Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• The term visual impairment covers a wide
  variety of conditions some present since birth,
  some resulting from gradual deterioration of
  sight.
• The vast majority of sight-impaired people have
  some useful sight, although the degree of sight
  can vary greatly.
• Some are able to read newsprint, whilst others
  need large print of varying sizes.
• A minority relies on non-sighted methods of
  reading and writing, such as Braille
  touch-typing.
• Only 7 of blind people use Braille.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• The type of partial sight from which a learner
  may suffer is extremely varied, reflecting the
  scores of different eye complaints which exist.
• It is therefore essential, before designing any
  ICT programme, to establish degree of useful
  vision.
• A key issue in the assessment process is the
  stability of the condition.
• If it is felt that the condition may alter, it is
  essential that reassessment of the programme is
  built in to the review cycle.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• The literacy and numeracy problems experienced by
  visually impaired people are likely to include
• a lack of reading, writing and numeracy
  practice
• difficulty in scanning pages, or even words
• a cumulative falling behind in education.
• Typically, a child will write phonetically, or
  have spelling problems because of an imperfect
  memory of the shape and length of words.
• There are similar difficulties with numeracy.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• For many VI or blind students, computers can
  enable access to the curriculum by providing
  alternative methods of reading and recording
  work.
• Not all learners require large print, but
  high-contrast print is easier for many learners
  to see than their own hand-written work.
• For these students, a word processor with
  suitably sized fonts on screen may prove useful,
  especially if the computer screen allows for good
  contrast, with high-quality resolution and
  picture steadiness.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• GENERAL SOFTWARE FEATURES
• BRIGHTNESS The light behind text on screen often
  makes it easier for someone with VI to read text
  on screen, rather than on the printed page.
• COLOUR COMBINATIONS Some colour combinations are
  easier to read for particular sight conditions,
  and VI users find it beneficial to be able to
  change either the text or the background colour,
  or both.
• FONTS Many VI students find it useful to be able
  to choose a particular font and to avoid
  fixed-space fonts, which may be more difficult to
  read. A plain font, with sans serif letters or
  certain letter shapes, is easier to read.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• PRINT SIZE Large print is often helpful to VI
  students, whether it be on screen or on
  printed-out documents. On screen, for instance,
  it can be helpful to make the text of a whole
  document larger.
• Printing in large fonts is useful for students to
  print out their own work, with perhaps a smaller
  version for their teacher, and for teachers to
  print out teaching materials for the visually
  impaired.
• If wishing to set large print for printing out
  rather than for viewing on screen this is
  generally set at the print command stage.
• Inkjet or laser printers are popular for their
  clear crisp print.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• SOUND EFFECTS Many systems have a range of
  sounds which can alert blind users when they
  maximise a window, for example. (In Windows, for
  instance, these are under Settings/Control
  Panels/Sounds).
• MOUSE POINTERS It is usually possible to change
  the shape and size of a mouse pointer, and show
  mouse trails to make it easier to locate the
  cursor on screen. (Within Settings/ Control
  Panel/Mouse in Windows).

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• INPUT/OUTPUT OPTIONS
• BRAILLE For learners inputting in Braille,
  Braille translation software can produce a text
  version of the learners work for their teacher
  to read.
• HIGH CONTRAST KEY LABELS It can be very helpful
  for learners to have their keyboard labelling
  altered. Some learners may prefer large letters,
  others may like labels in a variety of textures
  or colours for frequently used keys.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• OVERLAY KEYBOARDS An overlay keyboard can be
  very helpful being a flat tablet on which an
  appropriate overlay is placed showing, for
  instance, a replication of the screen from which
  an option can be pressed.
• SCANNERS Text can be scanned in and then
  enlarged on screen or converted to Braille, or
  read aloud by a speech synthesiser attached to
  the computer.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• SPEECH RECOGNITION Voice input has considerable
  benefits for VI pupils who can speak to their
  computer and produce correctly spelt documents,
  but there are issues with the use of sound in the
  mainstream classroom.
• TOUCH SCREENS The use of touch screens for the
  Blind has shown that pupils can often see more,
  partly because some eye conditions affect the
  ability to focus. Visual tracking is much
  improved when pupils do not constantly have to
  look from screen to keyboard and back again.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
• In the longer run, VI pupils need to develop
  touch-typing skills.
• Abroad, softwares are available like, Touch Type,
  where you see the letter, hear it and type it,
  and Touch-type, Read and Spell, which has
  feedback and a scoring system which motivates
  children.
• In UK, a pilot project using Touch-type, Read and
  Spell reported that VI pupils showed a marked
  improvement in listening skills and spelling, as
  well as learning to be accurate typists.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• The increasing use of images as well as text, in
  particular on CD-ROMs and in other multimedia
  materials, can increase the difficulties faced by
  students with VI.
• Software that enlarges areas of the screen or
  converts text into speech can help, but not
  always.
• However, software displaying bright attractive
  moving images can provide valuable visual
  stimulation, encouraging children with VI to use
  their vision and improve their tracking skills

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• Access to the Internet can be difficult, as not
  all sites have built-in accessibility for users
  with VI.
• Although some specialist Web browsers enlarge
  text and speak the contents of a Web page.
• There are still problems, however, with text in
  magazine or column format, as the screen reader
  will read from left to right across the columns.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• This can be overcome by using the text-to-speech
  Internet enhancer, BETSIE, from the BBC
• http//www.bbc.co.uk/education/betsie
• It reorganises Web pages into a more logical
  format, removing all the images and the
  unnecessary formatting.
• This makes it easier for screen readers to read
  the page to an on-line user.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• Software can be installed on the PC of the
  visually impaired person.
• PwWebspeak software is a talking Web browser that
  orders information from a Webpage into an
  understandable layout and reads it in synthesised
  speech.
• Further information at http//www.soundlinks.com
  .
• Information on a project using pwWebspeak with
  visually impaired children is available in print
  at
• http//www.rnib.org.uk/technology/iprsummary.htm
  .

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• PDF FILES
• Conversion of PDF files is possible via the
  Internet using the e-mail facility explained by
  Adobe at www.access.adobe.com/access_email.html
  .
• This Web page gives e-mail options to convert PDF
  files to plain text or HTML format to make them
  more accessible to screen-reading software.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• DIGITAL SPEECH DEVICES
• The digital recording devices can be invaluable
  portable means of recording information for VI
  pupils from their own class notes and personal
  letters to instructions and lessons, and for
  listening to audio books.
• Digital speech can be recorded via a microphone
  and attached to words and pictures.
• Calculators, thermometers and electronic
  dictionaries, all with in-built speech, may also
  be useful.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• TECHNOLOGY IMPLIMENTATION AREAS
• Support may be needed to design a screen layout
  to meet individual requirements, so that a
  student can load software and files of his own
  and edit and save his/her work.
• Technology such as quality printers and enlarging
  photocopiers can be used to produce large-print
  versions of work materials.
• The use of copyholders and angled work surfaces
  may be helpful.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• Magnifiers and additional lighting may be
  required, taking care not to allow too much light
  to interfere with the screen display.
• Screen glare can be alleviated by the use of
  anti-glare filters or by adjusting the on-screen
  colours.
• Consider ambient lighting conditions in order
  that the learner can make effective use of his
  vision.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• It is important that the provision of equipment
  is seen as integral to the development of the
  strategies required for the user to access the
  curriculum effectively.
• It is important to build regular access to the
  technology into the curriculum, as experience has
  shown that without continuity of contact it is
  difficult for students to retain a mental map of
  the system.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• Websites for Visually Impaired
• http//newsindex.com
• A news search engine with a VI facility.
• http//www.nlbuk.org/
• National Library for the Blind his site has a
  virtual reference library, a what's on section,
  professional support, and an access helpline with
  information on Braille, Moon, Audio and adaptive
  ICT, including accessible Web site design.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• http//www.nyise.org/access.htm
• Blindness Resource Center It covers the latest
  technological advances available for the VI. It
  gives guidance and product information on
  designing accessible Web sites and access
  resources such as talking Web browsers.
• http//www.winguide.co.uk
• Winguide Windows Concepts Training and
  Documentation Guides and courses, for users and
  trainers, on Windows for blind and visually
  impaired users and other professionals.

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Empowering Visually Impaired Students Through ICT

• http//www.deafblind.co.uk
• This Web resource for the deafblind gives
  information covering Internet resources,
  conferences and courses, equipment, service
  providers and so on. It also has a bibliography.
• http//www.deafblind.com
• An A-Z of Deafness Blindness. A Web site in
  several languages, giving information ranging
  from resources on the Internet to organisations,
  courses and equipment suppliers.

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THANKS

• TALWANT SINGH
• ADSJ DELHI
• For any suggestions/questions,
• Please contact
• talwantsingh_at_gmail.com